Frankie Grande is a Broadway veteran, but he’s still leaning on his pop star sister, Ariana Grande, for support as he opens Titanique.
“Ariana has been my vocal doctor,” Frankie, 43, who is originating the role of Victor Garber in the campy musical, told Us Weekly exclusively on opening night at New York City’s St. James Theatre on Sunday, April 12, which marked the famed ocean liner’s first day at sea 114 years ago. “She texts me all the time. She’s sent the same pastilles that she uses and her same vocal routine, so yes, she’s been helping me through this very difficult process of opening a Broadway show.”
He continued: “It’s been really taxing on my body and my voice, so she’s been helping me with my voice, and it’s been awesome. Her and [vocal coach] Liz Caplan.”
Both Grande siblings got their start on Broadway, with Frankie joining the cast of Mamma Mia! in 2007 and Ariana starring in 13 in 2008 before getting her big break on Nickelodeon’s Victorious.
While Marla Mindelle — who cowrote the jukebox musical and stars as Celine Dion — does a killer impression of the Canadian singer in Titanique, Frankie admits, “My sister does the best Celine Dion impression. Marla’s great, but Ariana’s is ridiculous.”
The show parodies James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic, retelling the movie’s events from the perspective of Dion, 58. Chock-full of pop culture references and improvisation, the musical is an absurd, laugh-out-loud celebration of the story that captivated audiences, the Grammy-winning singer behind the film’s iconic song “My Heart Will Go On” and queer culture.
When it comes to Broadway, Titanique is not Frankie’s first rodeo. Though, it is his first time originating a role, which is a dream the multihyphenate didn’t think he would ever achieve.
“Twenty years ago, when I made my Broadway debut with Mamma Mia!, I was positive I was gonna originate a role, and then I got on Big Brother, and then I went back for Rock of Ages,” he explained to Us. “Broadway wasn’t taking me seriously anymore because I had been on reality TV, which is stupid, by the way. Some of us can do multiple things in this world, but I was just kind of relegated to stunt cast.”
Yet, Mindelle, along with cowriters Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue, didn’t let Frankie’s reality TV background stop them from seeing his potential.
“Knowing Constantine and Marla as long as I have and them believing in me, and them bringing me in in the beginning and having worked on something for eight years, now finally, I’m originating a role at 43 years old on Broadway,” Frankie told Us. “Even though it’s been my dream since I was 10, it’s worth the wait. It was all timing. It was meant to happen. This is what it was supposed to be, and I’m so grateful.”
While some members of the cast share names with their movie counterparts (see: Jack and Rose), Frankie’s character is Garber himself, who played shipbuilder Thomas Andrews in the original film about the 1912 maritime disaster.
While Dion hasn’t yet been to see the show, Garber did stop by during its run Off-Broadway.
“Victor came and he spoke to all of us after and he said, ‘I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I’ve started to wonder how I will be immortalized and what my legacy will be, and I never thought it would be this,’” Frankie told Us of the actor’s visit. “He loved it so much.”
Costarring alongside Mindelle and Grande are Rousouli as Jack Dawson, Jim Parsons as Ruth DeWitt Bukater, Melissa Barrera as Rose DeWitt Bukater, Deborah Cox as the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, John Riddle as Cal Hockley and Layton Williams as The Iceberg.
Titanique is now playing at the St. James Theatre. Tickets are available online.
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